Board of Directors
Guadalupe Arreola is an environmental, health, and safety professional with two years of experience supporting Cardinal Health. She graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering in May 2020, she is currently working on obtaining her Master's of Occupational Health and Safety. Before transitioning into EHS, she spent two years as an environmental engineer working on a wide range of project types, including environmental sampling, construction oversight, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure planning, environmental compliance reviews, and permit compliance. She also has one year of experience as a floodplain engineer, where she focused on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, FEMA floodplain mapping, and flood mitigation design.
Vice President: Vacant
Secretary: Vacant
Secretary Apprentice: Eleanor Edeogho
I am an Environmental Scientist specializing in regulatory compliance for wastewater and other environmental media. My expertise includes permitting, reporting, inspections, and providing technical and regulatory guidance to industrial clients, with a primary focus on compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA).
I have conducted various Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) site inspections and compiled detailed reports, while applying knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations. My work also involves wastewater and stormwater permitting, SPCC plan development, environmental audits, and compliance assessments.
I am experienced in environmental reporting, including Annual Waste Summaries, EPCRA Tier II Reports, SARA Toxic Release Inventory Reports, Air Emissions Inventory Reports, and Annual Compliance Reports.
Treasurer: John Simpson
John Simpson became a CHMM in 2011 and is a past chapter President and Treasurer. He is a Project Manager with Tetra Tech with 28 years of experience in the environmental consulting field. John also serves as the Readiness Coordinator for emergency response under Tetra Tech’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Superfund Technical Assistance and Response Team (START) contract. John has managed and served as a team member for a wide variety of projects for government entities and commercial/industrial clients. His experience encompasses soil and groundwater investigation and remediation, environmental compliance related services as well as, due diligence and industrial hygiene studies. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas in 1997.
Immediate Past President: John Knightly
Mr. Knightly has 39 years of experience in the environmental consulting field. Since incorporating Knightly Environmental Incorporated in 1992 in Lenexa, Kansas, Mr. Knightly has completed hundreds of projects in states from coast to coast. Under Mr. Knightly’s leadership, KEI has worked on projects such as site characterization at numerous locations contaminated by a variety of different chemical compounds. He has also led turn-key project management at soil and groundwater remediation projects. Mr. Knightly conducts Phase I/Phase II environmental assessments, supervises underground storage tank closures (a.k.a. tank pulls), performs site investigations on sites using macrocore and direct push methods, conventional solid flight drilling and drilling using hollow-stem augers as well as other, less common methods of subsurface investigation including the use of penetrometers, electromagnetic surveys, and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Mr. Knightly’s experience includes groundwater and soil sampling and assessment activities at sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, PCBs, and pesticides/herbicides. Mr. Knightly is a licensed geologist in the State of Kansas (LG) since 2000, a registered geologist in the State of Missouri (RG) since 1996, and a certified hazardous materials manager (CHMM) since 2006.
Board Members:
Andy Savastino
Andrew Savastino is the Deputy Director of the Neighborhood Services Department for the City of Kansas City, Mo. He studied Biology at the State University of New York at Buffalo before getting his M.S. in Environmental Science from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In his 32-year career with the City, Andrew has provided guidance and leadership to City staff on regulatory compliance and sustainability. Andrew currently serves the Director as an advisor on issues relevant to city operations, programs, and policies and assists in administration of the department. Andrew is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and is licensed in Missouri as a Lead Risk Assessor and as an Asbestos Inspector. Andrew serves on various boards and committees including the Heartland Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP), the Climate and Environment Council (CEC), the Mid-America Regional Council Air Quality Forum, and the Total Transportation Policy Committee.
Ben Dines
Ben Dines has been an active member of the Heartland Chapter since 2014. He currently serves as a Senior Sales Executive with Pace Analytical, where he has spent more than a decade supporting clients in the environmental consulting, municipal, and industrial sectors across the Midwest.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, hunting, and cooking for friends and family—especially over the grill.
Jesse Green
Regional Account Manager for E-Tank/E-Pump covering Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Oklahoma. I am originally from Oklahoma City. I have a Mechanical Engineering degree & MBA. I started my career in O&G before moving over to the environmental side with E-Tank in 2021. I was an engineer for the company for 3 years in OH. We moved to Kansas City last year to take on the Sales Role.
Bryan Ross
Bryan is a Project Manager with SCS Engineers. He has a B.S. in Agriculture from Kansas State University with an emphasis in environmental and soil science. Bryan also completed a secondary major in Natural Resources and Environmental Science. He has over 18 years of experience in environmental sampling, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, industrial hygiene, and construction quality assurance. Bryan has also performed indoor air quality studies, mold inspections, and lead-based paint and asbestos surveys for private and government clients. Bryan has served as a Heartland Chapter Board member since 2016 and was Chapter President in 2019 and 2020.
Brad Sorensen:
Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) with more than 20 years of experience leading Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) strategy in complex chemical and manufacturing environments.
I specialize in building mature, high-performance EHS organizations, integrating systems to deliver measurable results. My approach aligns people, process, and performance creating sustainable cultures of safety while ensuring full regulatory compliance.
As a trusted advisor to senior leadership, I’ve led multi-site teams, developed and executed corporate EHS strategies, and driven major initiatives in process safety management, risk reduction, and sustainability. I’m particularly effective at bridging technical detail and executive decision-making to gain alignment and accelerate implementation.
Laura Kelly:
Laura is a past Heartland Chapter president and executive officer and has been a member of the Heartland Chapter since 1995. She has served continuously on the board since 2003 and has led the annual Golf Tournament committee since 2006. The golf tournament annually raises approximately $2000 to support educational scholarships for chapter members and their family members. Laura has been with CDM Smith for 35 years, where she is a client service leader in the Federal programs group, leading responses to new business opportunities in the environmental remediation sector for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts in the central and western U.S. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and is a certified project management professional (PMP), in addition to her CHMM accreditation. Laura enjoys interacting with her colleagues in the Heartland Chapter and looks forward to many more years of association with this group.
